Credentials include identification cards, driver's licenses, passports, and other documents. Such credentials generally include printed information, such as a photo, account numbers, identification numbers, and other personal information. Additionally, credentials can include data that is encoded in a smartcard chip, a magnetic stripe, or a barcode, for example. Smartcard chips can include a microprocessor for executing applications stored in the memory of the smartcard chip. Such applications can be used to manage account information, audit use of the credential, perform security checks, and perform other tasks. Accordingly, the production and issuance of such credentials often requires the integration of several credential production applications and credential production devices, such as a printer and data encoder.
As a result, the management of the production of a credential can be very complicated. This complexity is increased as a result of a need to make the process highly secure.